On a cold, blustery and rainy day, Metroparks Toledo unveiled the newest addition to Howard Marsh park on Howard Road in Jerusalem Township.
Inclement weather forced the event indoors to Macomber Lodge at Pearson park in Oregon, but following the dedication, visitors were invited to travel east for 10 miles on State Route 2 to the park where tours were offered.
The second and final phase of Howard Marsh Metropark, a historic wetland restoration project near the Lake Erie shore, opened Wednesday, adding more acres of wildlife habitat and additional miles of kayaking and hiking trails.
Local, state and federal officials joined Metroparks to commemorate the event.
Hosted by Kevin Dalton, a member of the board of park commissioners, speakers included Tim Schetter, Metroparks chief natural resources officer; Kendra Wecker, chief of the Ohio Division of Wildlife; Jamie Rader, director of operations for Ducks Unlimited, Great Lakes/Atlantic Region, and representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The project began in 2008, when the park district purchased a 987-acre farm near the shores of Lake Erie for $6 million using $1.2 million from its land acquisition fund and $4.8 million in grants from the Ohio Division of Wildlife and the Clean Ohio Fund.
After an extensive public planning process with project partners Ohio Division of Wildlife, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Ducks Unlimited, in March 2018 Metroparks completed the first phase of construction, restoring 700 acres back to Lake Erie coastal wetlands and associated upland habitat. This constituted the single largest wetland restoration project completed under the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
Since opening in spring 2018, it has attracted thousands of birders drawn by the wide variety of shorebirds and waterfowl, especially during spring and fall migration. It also has become a popular kayaking and hiking destination. Soon after completion of phase one, Metroparks began working with project partners on the second portion, restoration of the remaining 243 acres. This portion of the project entailed:
•Restoration of 203 acres of coastal wetlands;
•Restoration of 25 acres of upland habitat;
•Restoration of four miles of deep water channels for fish habitat and kayaking totaling 10 miles, and
•Construction of 2.5 miles of hiking trails and boardwalks, totaling 9.1 miles.
As part of construction, Metroparks replaced more than 0.5 miles of failing flood control levies with newly constructed wetland dikes, reducing the risk of flooding to more than 70 adjacent residences. The project also eliminates drainage from 243 acres of agricultural land into the Lake Erie western basin to enhance water quality.
The $3.6 million habitat restoration project was paid for with $2.7 million from the federal GLRI through a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded to Ducks Unlimited. The Clean Ohio Fund also awarded a $630,000 grant.
